--- description: Find out why Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce is on TIME's list of the best fantasy books of all time title: 'Alanna: The First Adventure' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best Fantasy Books image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33bf3706dfb4708b/698a1329b3fce30fb00c741b/Alanna-The-First-Adventure-Tamora-Pierce-100-best-fantasy-books.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 14, 2020 # Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Without Tamora Pierce’s Alanna of Trebond paving the way, we might never have gotten to read about such beloved young heroines as George R.R. Martin’s [Arya Stark](https://time.com/5592124/game-of-thrones-where-is-arya-stark-going/ "undefined") or Sarah J. Maas’s Celaena Sardothien. We first meet Alanna in _The Song of the Lioness_ series as she’s preparing to disguise herself as a boy in order to take her twin brother’s place as a knight in training. So begins a four-book saga replete with magic, love and unforgettable adventure that spans decades in the medieval fantasy world of Tortall. In many ways ahead of its time, Pierce’s fantastical young-adult story doesn’t shy away from addressing issues of feminism, diversity, gender and sexuality, and class politics. —_Megan McCluskey_ **Buy Now:** _Alanna: The First Adventure_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781442426412 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3luSviH "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898458/alanna-the-first-adventure/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898458/alanna-the-first-adventure/"},"headline":"'Alanna: The First Adventure' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best Fantasy Books","datePublished":"2020-10-14T21:13:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:43:27.346Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898458/alanna-the-first-adventure/","keywords":["Books","list"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33bf3706dfb4708b/698a1329b3fce30fb00c741b/Alanna-The-First-Adventure-Tamora-Pierce-100-best-fantasy-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33bf3706dfb4708b/698a1329b3fce30fb00c741b/Alanna-The-First-Adventure-Tamora-Pierce-100-best-fantasy-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-fantasy-books/5898458/alanna-the-first-adventure/","name":"'Alanna: The First Adventure' Is on TIME's List of the 100 Best Fantasy Books"}}]}] ```